Plans stand for new development.

Byline: Randi Bjornstad The Register-Guard

Not all the development in east Eugene is happening at the Glenwood exit just west of the Interstate 5 freeway.

Growth also is happening over the hill to the north, in the traditionally quaint Laurel Hill Valley, known - and beloved by some - for its lack of sidewalks and potholes aplenty in its narrow, barely paved streets. One of the most recent land use approvals has been issued to the Burke Estates subdivision, which will add 15 residential lots in the heart of the valley, just east of Floral Hill Drive.

Owned by Ron and Lori Burke, the just under 4-acre parcel will include two new interior streets - Esther Street running north and south and the east-west Potterf Street. Both streets will be named for Esther Potterf, from whose estate the Burkes purchased the property in 1999 for $47,000.

The land had a real market value of $130,000 last year, according to Lane County tax records.

The subdivision proposal originally approved by the city's Planning Division - in particular the alignments of the new streets - ran afoul of the Laurel Hill Valley Citizens, a group representing landowners and residents in the area.

The neighborhood organization appealed the plan, saying the proposed street locations would make it difficult for adjoining property owners to develop land in the future.

That sent the proposal to a hearings official for further analysis. The hearings official affirmed the planning department's decision, ruling that the topography of the Burkes' property made their street plan the most logical way to serve the subdivision.

The Burkes could not be reached for information about the estimated timing for completion of the subdivision or the projected prices for the lots or residences that will be created.

Developer plans 40

row house homes

Across town in northeast Eugene, Mark Vukanovich, principal with a limited liability corporation called Real Estate Development Group, plans to add to his development in the area of County Farm Road.

In addition to his 18-lot subdivision called Belle Terra, Vukanovich recently won tentative approval from the city of Eugene for a 40-lot row house project he calls The Crossings at County Farm Road.

Located just north of Belle Terra Drive, west of County Farm Road, the development consists of nearly 3.25 acres of vacant land zoned for medium-density residential use. Vukanovich proposes to build five attached row houses in each of eight rows. Access to the lots would be from Matt Drive and the extension of Lakeview Drive, via private alleys at the rear of the row houses.

Three other subdivisions - Hayward, Belle Terra and Mountain Terrace - have been approved along County Farm Road but have not been allowed direct access from the road, according to findings in the case by Eugene hearings official Anne Corcoran Briggs, who issued tentative approval to The Crossings on Aug. 24.

Briggs's approval of the proposal include the requirement that houses along the western property line, adjacent to low-density residential development, should not be taller than the 30-foot maximum allowed in low-density residential zones.

She also said a sound wall should be constructed to protect residences along County Farm Road from street noise and that planned common areas should remain as open space.

Vukanovich did not return telephone messages requesting information about the timing or total cost of the project.

City documents indicate that he also plans to meet with Eugene city planners this month to talk about yet another development, a "senior living community," in the same area.